Memories of You
by Epik Wonder
Summary: Kiri's hand is damadged beyond use and she loses her memories. Narumi starts over with her, but then what does he realize? More drama unfolds and a few confessions are made. Chp.11 is out. FIN.
1. Chapter 1

"Watch out!" Billy screamed to his chauffeur. The man turned the wheel violently to avoid hitting the fat, black and white cat sitting in the middle of the highway, only to plow straight into the startled girl stepping onto the road.

There was a 'thud' and the girl's body was thrust backwards. Billy rushed out of the car to see what had happened. He saw one of his best friends lying silently in a pool of blood.

"Kirity! Oh my baby…" A woman sitting by the occupied hospital bed cried. Seki, her husband and Kirity's father was hugging her and looked miserable.

The door of the isolated hospital room opened to reveal a somber Billy, a crying Kei and Kanako, and a speechless Narumi and Ochiai. A doctor was behind them and ushered Kiri's parents out (Only 5 visitors at a time.)

"What… What happened?" Narumi finally managed after seeing Kiri's bandaged head, arm and hand, side, and leg. Billy sighed.

"My chauffeur hit her, trying to avoid Shampoo, that stupid cat of hers…" He said, shaking his head and looking like a rejected dog.

Narumi froze. "You…You're the one who…who did…" Narumi didn't finish his sentence as he grabbed Billy's shirt. There was silence for some time except for the constant crying of Kei and snuffling of Kanako. Ochiai rushed forward to grab Narumi.

"Narumi! Calm down," Ochiai said, even though he felt that this is Billy's fault, entirely. He would have hit Billy, if not for Narumi's anger that distracted him.

A nurse came running in, disturbed by the noise. "You're here to visit your friend, not pick fights!" She shrilled. Narumi grimly released Billy but kept on glaring at him. The nurse left, but not before reminding them that visiting hours were almost over.

"…Who are…you… people?" A weak voice said. Everybody turned to the struggling Kiri and went to help her sit up. She winced when Kei accidentally jabbed her side. "Please…tell me," She said before fainting.

Everybody was astonished. Ochiai rushed out to bring the doctor inside for questioning.

"What happened?" Ochiai asked.

"She was hit by-"

"No! What's up with the memory loss?" Narumi interrupted.

"Well, it seems that when she was hit, she was hit mainly on her right side, but when she fell backwards, her head hit the pavement first,"

"Then…Then what about her hand?" Kei asked.

"When she fell, she fell on her hand, crushing many bones."

"You didn't finish answering my question," Narumi growled.

"About the memory loss?" The doctor said. Narumi grunted. "Well, it's already a miracle she can still speak. Her brain is probably bruised in the part where the human brain keeps memories."

"Then…will Kiri-chan will make a complete recovery?" Kanako whispered, afraid of the answer.

"Her arm and leg will heal in time, but her side will have a scar. She may never recover her memories, but there's a small chance. As for her hand…she may never be able to use it again," The doctor finished. He looked at his watch and herded the group out the door, except for Narumi.

Narumi was standing above Kiri and didn't speak until everyone had left.

"Stupid mussy-head. Why did you have to get hit?" He whispered. He lifted her unusable hand and kissed it. A tear rolled down his face and wet the bandage on her hand. "You don't remember me and maybe that's for the better." He sighed. He gently placed her hand back by her side and walked out of the room.

Even though it was not his fault Kiri got hit, Narumi blames himself.

**R&R please. Should this continue? Or should this just stay as a oneshot? Or should I do a series of short stories?**


	2. Chapter 2

**EDIT TO FIRST CHAPTER: I wrote Kiri's father's name as "Seki". That's wrong. It should be "Seiji". I apologize profusely.**

**Also, in this fan fiction piece, Iori is away in America, so he probably won't make an appearance anytime soon. I do not know whether to make this KirixNarumi or another pairing. A clean slate is always good though. Please, PM me with your ideas!**

"Kirity! If you don't wake up soon you're going to be late!" Emi, Kiri's mom, yelled as she prepared a few slices of bread for her daughter.

"Hmm?" A fully awake and dressed Kiri stood at the doorway. "Late for what?" Her mom's jaws dropped open. She had never seen Kiri entirely conscious before eight o'clock.

"Ah, school." She quickly said, trying to cove up her surprise.

"…School? I don't know the way." Kiri said, very confused.

"Well, Billy could take you!" Emi said, suddenly excited. Kiri nodded uncertainly as Emi handed her some bread and ushered her out the door. "Later Kiri!" The door closed behind her. Kiri sighed.

"Kiri, Kiri!" Kiri spun around as she saw a group of boys heading toward her.

"Who are you guys?" She asked. The boys all stopped, speechless once more.

"Ahh, well, Koshiba-san, I guess I'd better introduce my self again as you don't remember me. I'm Kazuhiko Ochiai," The boy with the glasses said.

"I'm Kei!" Kei was eating a candy.

"Shogo…Narumi," The last boy said, with a brief glance toward her before looking away again. Kiri nodded and smiled widely. Narumi and Ochiai blanched. They had never seen her smile before.

"So cute!" They both thought. Kei ran over to Kiri and looped his arm with hers.

"Let's go Kiri!" Kei said and led the small group towards school. No one noticed the shouting Billy behind them, "Wait for meeeee…"

--

"Hey, who's that cute new girl with the ponytail?" A guy whispered to his friend.

"This is Kiri Koshiba! The haircutting girl! X-san!" Kei shouted. People's heads turned, looking at the newly transformed girl. The popular girls of the school walked toward her, welcoming her, as she looked like a popular girl now.

Kiri was good-natured and was friendly toward everyone. She was the exact opposite of what she had been. Narumi, all this while, had been sulking in the corner.

"Hey, let me hold you books for you, you don't look like you can hold them with that injured hand!" A boy interjected as he took all of Kiri's books.

Kiri looked surprised for a moment but thanked the boy warmly. That did it for Narumi. He pounced in, hissed, grabbed Kiri's books then glared at the other boy.

Then, all hell broke loose. The boy, mad at Narumi for stealing Kiri's books, advanced upon him. Kiri was trying to break up the fight. Half the fangirls were squealing because Narumi was so protective and the other half of the fangirls were charging at Kiri, jealous of how much attention she was getting from "Narumi-senpai".

Then, to add more confusion to the chaotic mess, other fights started happening between different people.

"Narumi-senpi is mine!"

"He's not yours! He's mine!"

"What? He's not any of yall's. He's all of ours!"

"I'm gonna ask Kiri out!"

"Nuh-uh! I had the idea first!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Oh yeah?

"Yeah."

"…C'mon let's take this outside."

"Dumb-butt, we're already outside."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

And so that's how the first morning of Kiri's new life began.

**This isn't much of a cliff-hanger because I'm not cruel. Haha, but be prepared for cliff-hangers in future times! (Publicity, Publicity: Go read "Goodbye Lady Belle" under Godchild. Godchild is under anime/manga.)**

**Well, thanks for reading! I hope to hear your ideas! Remember, it's the love from readers that keeps the fire under the writer burning! (Omg, I'm using too many exclamation marks. (!) )**

**Always R&R! Thank you all!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Omg, I just love you all readers. –teary eyed-**

**13 reviews. 13!! Zomg, I need to update more to satisfy all your hungry needs. Well, now that the new chapter's here, let us begin!**

-Afternoon, in the SP room-

"Where's Kiri?" Seki said as he continued to massage the sleeping Kei. The room fell silent of the usual clacks of Ochiai's keyboard and the snips of Narumi's scissors.

"Koshiba-san…she lost her memory, Seki." Ochiai said quietly. Seki still didn't understand.

"How?"

"…She was hit …by a friggin' car." Narumi growled, closing his eyes, and gripping his scissors until his fingers turned purple, cut off from circulation. Seki flinched and started apologizing again and again till Narumi told him to shut up.

Later, after Kei and Seki had left, Ochiai and Narumi had a little talk.

"Narumi! Wait!" Ochiai shouted after Narumi, who was already half-way out the door.

"…What?"

"It's about Koshiba-san." Narumi paused, then turned completely around, and closed the door to lean on.

He sighed deeply. "What about her?" He had a haggard look to his face. Ochiai finally noticed the black circles under his eyes, professionally covered by a lot of concealer. Narumi was clean-shaven, though Ochiai suspected somebody had done that for Narumi.

"Do you think Koshiba-san still holds the ability to cut hair?" Ochiai asked quietly. Narumi looked up sharply and narrowed his eyes.

"She lost her memory, didn't she?"

"Narumi, Narumi. She can still talk, walk, and now smile, can't she? So what's keeping her from hair-cutting?"

"…Don't."

"Don't what?"

"Don't force anything upon her or else." Narumi said dangerously. Ochiai pushed up his glasses. Narumi opened the door once more and stepped out, and bumped into Kiri!

"Just how much had she heard, and how much had she understood?" Narumi thought as he helped the girl up. He was surprised at how thin her arm was. How light it was. How easy to break it was…

"Shogo!" Kiri said. Narumi's eyes widened and he had a weird look on his face.

"Please…Don't call me…Shogo…" Narumi said. Kiri smiled and Narumi blushed. "Hey, let- let me walk you- you home." He stuttered, looking away.

Kiri giggled. Yes, giggled. She linked her arm through Narumi's and led him through the hallways and through the school gates. Even though Narumi was breaking out in a horrible rash, he didn't mind.

"Shogo, what relationship did we have before I lost my memory?" Kiri asked, still walking with her arm linked through his. Narumi blushed even more, remembering his dream with her.

"…Hey, don't call me that annoying name…"

"You didn't answer my question." Kiri pouted.

"We-We-We were friends!" Narumi stuttered with his face beet red. He could barely speak. Kiri giggled even more and suddenly sneezed. She didn't have a jacket even though it was already November.

Narumi unlinked, reluctantly, his arm from Kiri's, took off his jacket, and handed it to her.

"Thank you!" she beamed. "Are you sure we were just friends? …Nothing…A little…more?" she hinted. Narumi looked away because his face felt like it was ablaze, but perhaps it was only the cruel wind that was ruffling their hair.

"…We were only friends. C'mon, race you to your house." Narumi dashed off. Kiri smiled a bit ruefully and hurried after him. People passing by her waved and she waved back, polite as always.

--

Back in the SP room, Ochiai was still pondering what to do.

"Tonight, yes, I'll do it tonight." He said, packing up his make-up case and some papers he had just printed out.

**Just so yall know, I just love reviews. Haha, but you already knew that. Okay, that wasn't funny. ..  
Anywhoo, R&R as always my little chickcadees. D**


	4. Chapter 4

"Your house is over here, mussy head." Narumi sighed as he places his hands on Kiri's shoulders and steering her in the right direction.

"Oh? Is it? …By the way, why do you call me 'mussy head?' "Kiri asked.

"Because you hair pisses me off." Narumi growled. Although he said this, he didn't feel like it at all. As he steered her away from a speeding car, he caught a whiff of her hair. It smelled of strawberries and milk, just as he would of expected.

"Ehh? I like my hair." Kiri said playfully. Narumi only smiled a little before placing her right in front of her house.

"Well, here you are. Go on in." Narumi pushed her forward a little and turned to go.

"Wait!" Kiri panicked and grabbed his shirt. Narumi froze. "Err…At least stay for dinner?" She said sheepishly. "Please?"

Narumi sighed. "Okay, but just today. Never again." Kiri laughed and pulled him inside.

"Kiri. Finally home, ehh? Don't you care about you old dad? …Who's this? Your boyfriend?" Seiji yelled as he enveloped little Kiri in a hug. Kiri only giggled, not even denying Seiji's last question.

Seiji, more than used to Kiri's old response, was so shocked that when he recovered, the cigar he had been smoking had gone out. Narumi was denying it from the second he had asked, but Seiji paid him no mind.

"Emiiiiiii!" Kiri's dad flew to his wife's side and was crying. "Kiri has…has…a boyfriend now!" Emi's eyes grew huge. She flew back to the two teenagers with Seiji trailing behind her.

"Hey, you're that Naru-Naru! The one who warped my Kiri's personality!"Emi's eyes glowed red and her teeth seemed to turn a lot sharper than they were usually.

"Mom! No! He's really a nice guy. You'll like him. He's good friends with Billy too." Kiri quickly said before they had Narumi shreds for dinner.

At the last sentence, Emi reverted back to normal. "Oh? Good friends? Well, I guess he can live. For now." Emi said, a little confused, but left the two alone.

--

"So what would you like for dinner tonight?" Kiri asked as she opened the refrigerator.

"Pancakes!" Seiji said. "I heard they're a delicacy in America."

"Pufferfish!" Emi said."I heard they're a delicacy in Japan."

"Anything is fi-"Before Narumi could finish his sentence, Seiji and Emi burst out with,"Pufferfish Pancakes!"

The couple danced around, then exited the small room to go dance somewhere else.

"Noodles it is!"Kiri finally decided, taking out some dried noodles and getting ready to put in the boiling water. As she was lowering the noodles into the pot with her good hand, somebody burst into the room.

"Koshiba-san!" Ochiai said with Narumi behind him.

Kiri had flinched and her hand came in contact with the bubbling water. She cried out, dropped the noodles, and held onto her wrist, wincing.

Narumi and Ochiai's eyes grew wide. They hurried over to help her. Ochiai inspected the burn as Narumi repeatedly asked her if she was okay.

Emi and Seiji entered the room two seconds later. Emi came over, saw Kiri's burn, and started crying to Seiji. "Seiji! That boy over there harmed our Kiri!"

"Oh Kiri…If I hadn't come over, this wouldn't have happened…"Narumi kept on muttering to himself.

It was indeed a scene of chaos: Narumi muttering, holding Kiri's hand, Kiri staring and frowning at her hand, and Seiji and Emi chasing Ochiai around the room.

--

After an hour, Kiri had gotten some ointment and covered the burn with some bandages. Narumi left and returned home.

That night, Narumi finally realized something. That time he had been steering Kiri and holding her hand, he hadn't gotten a rash. "What's up with that?" he thought. Narumi dismissed it and went off to bed.

Back at Kiri's house, Emi and Seiji were still fretting over her, asking if she wanted some ice or some pickles or some iced pickles or some pickled ice or something else.

"Ochiai, why'd you come today?" Kiri asked.

"…Koshiba-san, do you remember anything before your accident?" Ochiai pushed his glasses up.

"…I remember my parents and Shampoo. I also remember Aoyama. But…that's about it."

"…I see." Ochiai lifted the suitcase he had been holding, onto the table. Inside was a model head with messy hair. "Now…Could you sort out this head's hair with your burned hand, Koshiba-san?"

**Yay! Sorry for not updating. I promise there'll be more really soon if there are more reviews. Do you think Kiri will remember her mad cutting skills? Or has she forgotten that as well? PM or review!**

**Lots of love. ;3**


	5. Chapter 5

**This is the longest yet! Enjoy!**

**Sorry for not updating fast. More reviews!**

Kiri looked blankly at the scissors Ochiai held in his hands. "Huh?"

"Koshiba-san, I would like you to do the wizard cut on this wig. Could you do that for me.?"

Kiri wrinkled her nose. "Wizard cut…" She took the scissors from Ochiai's hands to hold it in her own burned one. Kiri closed her eyes. She could hear faint music playing in the back of her head. She swayed to the tune and started humming along. Kiri lifted her arms and started snipping. She started slow, but in a few seconds, her hands had become a blur, faster than ever before.

Emi, Seiji, and Ochiai stared, amazed. Kiri finally sighed, let her hands fall, and opened her eyes. She had done the wizard cut, with eyes closed, and hadn't even broken a sweat.

Seiji glanced at the clock. "That…That was too fast." He muttered under his breath.Emi squealed and launched herself at Kiri. Ochiai still stood on the side, pushing up his glasses and acting like normal Ochiai.

"Koshiba-san, I'm sorry to have disturbed you tonight and hurt your hand." Ochiai got down on his knees and bowed three times to the family. They stared at him, transfixed. Ochiai looked up uncomfortably and got something out of his pocket. "You should go buy some more medicine for your hand…" He said, handing Kiri a small plastic card.

Kiri took it and bowed to him too. Ochiai blushed inwardly, got up hurriedly, and shuffled out into the cool, night air. The happy family inside the house celebrated for no apparent reason well into the night.

"Naru-Naru! Good-morning!" Kiri said, surprised at seeing his face when she opened the front door.

"Hey. Are your hands ok?" Narumi asked. Kiri laughed.

"Your face looks funny when you frown." she chuckled and raced down the road with Narumi chasing after her. Shampoo watched the scene, purred, and fell asleep in the warm sunlight.

--

"She has to go." A girl with blond hair said as she primped her hair.

"Go? What do you mean, Suzy?" Another girl who was putting on lip gloss asked.

"Idiot! I told you to call me 'Suzette'! No wonder they call you Dunce. I mean is, we have to bring that horrible, little Kiri Koshiba down." Suzette said icily.

"But why? She hasn't—"

"Hasn't what? Hurt us? God, sometimes I ask myself why I even talk to you. Victoria, it's because she's too 'clingy' to Narumi-Senpai…" Suzette said as she pulled a small photo from her bag. She smiled faintly at it and ripped it to shreds.

"Clingy!? What's wrong with that? You didn't have to shred her picture…" Victoria grumbled. Suzette glared at her.

"…Victoria, just because you and I are both from England and grew up together, doesn't mean I can't boot you from the 'Narumi-Senpai Devotee Association'(NSDA). Got it?"

"I can't even remember that name." Victoria said.

"It doesn't matter. Go get Mika, Haruna, Sakura, Aya, and Aya's boyfriend, Leo."

"Who's Leo?" Suzette mentally slapped herself.

"He's the guy that came to Japan along with us…Remember now?" Suzette said slowly. Victoria's vacant expression didn't change. Suzette ushered her outside the small room and locked the door after Victoria.

--

"Naru-Naru, have you seen my pencil-case?" Kiri asked. He shook his head. Kiri frowned even more and continued searching the room. Narumi looked around. All the boys were huddled around some other kid with a new perverted DVD or something. Most of the girls in the class were also huddled together, sneaking peeks at Kiri.

Narumi then figured out what was going on. He stomped to the trash can and fished out Kiri's pencil case under many, many used tissues.

"I found it, Kiri." Narumi said as he walked to and handed her said case. He then turned toward the whispering group of girls. The whispering, all of a sudden, got louder.

"Psst! He's looking our way, Aya!"

"I know! I know! You should totally ask him out, Mika."

"Whaaat? Why me? I think Haruna should."

"Huh? Me? But-"

"What are you guys saying? Idiots…" A girl with pink hair muttered to the other girls.

"Sakura, why'd you join our association if you don't like Narumi-Senpai?" A girl with curly brown hair asked.

"Who said I didn't like him? I just don't like that worm that hangs on him." The other girls nodded in agreement with the outspoken Sakura.

Narumi continued his stomping trek toward the group. "YOU…YOU HORRIBLE LITTLE—" He didn't finish his sentence as the door slammed open to reveal the chubby Victoria.

"Calling all NSDA members! Report to headquarters immediately! Suzette's waiting." She announced to the room. The group of girls raised their heads, and trouped out. The class watched, fascinated by the girls. All the girls had two things in common: They all liked Narumi-Senpai and they all wore a red band around their right legs.

--

"You called, Suzy?" Sakura drawled as she lay down on the desk in Suzette's small room in the school.

"Yeah. We need to get rid of Koshiba."

"Oh, I agree, I agree. What do you plan to do?"

"As vice-president of the NSDA, I say we mess up all her possessions and clothes, mess up her hair, make her wear slutty clothes everyday, and our trump card, we should go into her house at night to mess up her hair."

Sakura narrowed her eyes. "I like it…Tonight, we sneak into her house, steal all her clothes and leave a slutty costume and a big coat for her. Then, we make her hair look as if a maniac cut it. We can also mess up her books along with that." She said, smiling.

"Why leave a big coat?" Haruna asked.

"She has to have a way to get past her parents and on her way to school. Idiots." Suzette said.

The girls tittered, scared, nervous, and excited for night to come and hide them from criticizing eyes.

**Let's shoot for 25 reviews for the next chapter. Thank you readers! I love you all. R&R**


	6. Chapter 6

"Ready for this, girls?" Sakura whispered as she readjusted her tight black shirt and pants. Sakura, Suzette, Mika, Haruna, and Aya were lined up outside of Kiri Koshiba's house. They were all wearing black.

"Are…Are you sure about this?" Mika asked nervously as she twirled a piece of her short, black, bobbed hair around her finger.

"Yeah, I mean, we could, like, get into major trouble for this." Haruna said.

"Shut up. If you're too chicken to do this, then go home back to your moms." Aya said back at them. Sakura narrowed her eyes.

"…I didn't bring all of you along to chatter." Sakura said and dashed off to the side of the house. The four other girls quickly followed.

Sakura found Kiri's window and forced it open with a crowbar. She stuck her head inside to look around. Kiri was in bed, sleeping soundly. Sakura went inside and quickly clamped a handkerchief in Kiri's face. Kiri, still asleep, breathed the sleep toxins in the fabric and fell even deeper into sleep.

"Done. We'll have exactly thirty minutes before she recovers back into normal sleep." Sakura said. The other girls looked at her in awe before she shooed them to their tasks.

"Psst! Are you done with the books yet?" Suzette asked fifteen minutes later.

"Yeah. Got the clothes, Haruna?" Aya said.

"Yeah. Let's get otta here!" Haruna replied.

The five girls trouped back out of Kirity's open window and closed it behind them. They ran back onto the street giggling.

"We did it, Haruna!" Mika squealed. Haruna laughed with her and they danced around. The other girls looked on, smiling a little. After a small celebration there, the girls quickly dispersed to go back to their homes.

Sakura slowed her fast gait when she reached her home. She sighed and entered the gate. Sakura didn't live in a mansion. She didn't even live in a normal home. The pink-haired girl started running, passing several drunken men grabbing at her hair and clothes. She continued her frantic pace past a few dead bushes, past many old, damaged doors, and finally up a flight of stairs.

Sakura lived in an apartment in the darkest part of town. She opened the door to her "home." The acrid smell of cigarette smoke greeted her. She wrinkled her nose and stepped inside.

"So, you finally decide to come home…" A deep, gravelly voice said. Sakura trembled and quickly ran to open the windows of the tiny, tiny room. The place she lived in consisted of the room she was currently in, a tiny kitchen, and a bathroom that was even smaller than a closet. As she was opening the second window, a strong, meaty hand grabbed her from behind and pulled her back.

Sakura squealed and the window slammed closed.

----

"…Mussy-head…"

"…Shougo…"

"Don't copy me!" Narumi said as he walked with Kiri to school. She giggled as Narumi tried to swat her.

As they arrived at school, they were separated when a pack of boys herded of Narumi and Kiri was left by herself at the front of school. Kiri smiled wryly as she watched Narumi laughing with some of his friends. She stopped smiling when five, very angry girls stepped into her way.

"…Koshiba." Suzette spat out. Kiri cocked her head.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, you can help us by telling us what you did with the clothes we gave you. And why's your hair back to normal?"

"Oh, so it was you. It was nothing, really. You all really are dumb. Do you really think I keep all my clothes in the closet? It's called drawers. Also, if you haven't noticed, my family's into the hair-cutting business. Getting some exes isn't very hard." Kiri said, matter-of-factly.

Suzette took a deep breath and slapped Haruna. "You…You are officially terminated from the NSDA." Haruna wailed and ran away. Mika was so surprised she didn't even follow after Haruna.

"…You all are horrible…"Mika whispered. "I quit!" she screamed and ran off to go comfort Haruna.

Aya stroked her long, black hair. "I think I've had my fun here. I'm going to find Leo."

"…I thought, I thought you were the most faithful out of them." Suzette faltered.

"Nah. Narumi's cute, but he isn't Leo." Aya said. "And, you all really hurt Haruna. I'm not the type to condone that. I'm reporting you." Aya said sweetly. "And that's why I quit. Right now."

Suzette whimpered. Sakura's face remained expressionless. "Fine! Be that way! Me and Sakura and Victoria will have our club!" Suzette screamed, red-faced, at the pretty, black haired girl. Aya shrugged and walked away.

"You know, liking Narumi is all good, but you really don't have to go to extremes to mess up the person that's friendly to him. If you really like him, then you should try your best to change your relationship with him." Kiri said slowly.

"Shut up, you—"Sakura cut Suzette off.

"She's right you know." Sakura said quietly. The pink-haired girl raised her head to face Kiri with tears in her eyes. "Thank you, Kiri." Kiri look startled. Sakura quickly bit her lip, turned around with her head down once more, and ran, straight into Narumi!

"I saw what happened, you know." He said. Kiri frowned. Suzette was at a loss.

"You don't u-unders-stand! It's not like that!" Sakura sniffled.

Narumi sighed. "I heard what you said too." Sakura looked up into his face.

"You, you did?" She whispered. Narumi nodded. She smiled a little then started laughing. "I can't believe I've wanted to talk to you for four years, and now the first I did, it's like this." She said, half laughing, half crying. "Do you know what I go through at home? Do you know?!" Narumi patted her back a little, fearing her mental state. Kiri pulled her away from Narumi and hugged her.

"It's going to be okay, Sakura." Kiri said into her ear. Sakura didn't respond but went limp into Kiri's arms. "…Sakura, Sakura? Wake up, come on. We're going to take you to the nurse. Sakura?" Kiri lifter Sakura's head up to find her eyes glassy. "Narumi! She's not breathing!"

---

"I would like to thank you all for coming to Sakura Hanami's funeral today." The priest dressed in all black said in a monotone voice. Sounds of crying filled the small church.

Kiri, Narumi, Suzette, Victoria, Aya, Leo, Mika, Haruna all sat in the front row. Sadly, they were the only ones there at the funeral. Suzette was the one crying.

"You! You were the one who did this!" Suzette screamed at Narumi, jumping up from the pew and pointing at the brown haired boy.

There was no response from anyone. Suzette whimpered again and collapsed on the floor. "Sakuraaaa…"

"Sakura, she may have been a crazed fan-girl some, but in her last moments I sensed something altogether different, something deeper."

"…This girl, she died in a…drug overdose…"The priest said, squinting at the paper.

"Drugs? Sakura didn't do drugs…" Suzette said quietly.

"…How do you know?" Mika asked.

"She wasn't the type." Suzette replied.

"Where are her parents?" Narumi asked. He looked around. "That's mighty rude of them to not come to their daughter's funeral." He said, disgusted.

"…Parents. You know, now that you mention it, Sakura never mentioned her home or family and I've known her most my life." Suzette said.

"There's something fishy about this…" Kiri frowned. "We have to get to the bottom of this." The other girls and Narumi agreed.

**Wow. From a light-hearted romance story to a weird, indirect murder mystery? I hope I don't lose anyone. XDD If you want to know the reason for this, it's because I listen to different music when I write. I guess I was listening to a very sad or drama filled or whatever song. Well, you'll have to wait a little to find out what happens. 8D. So, R&R and I'll write faster.**


	7. Chapter 7

**WARNING AND SPOILER:**

**This chapter does contain some sad facts about life or graphic ideas. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

**Note*: Yen is the currency in Japan. 100 yen in Japan equals 1 dollar in the United States. So 500 yen there is 5 dollars in the United States.**

**Note**: nth time. I don't really know how to explain this, but just substitute a really huge number for that n. For example, if 1004 stood for n, it would be the 1004****th**** time. Get it?**

It had already been four days. The tears of the world still fell. Students sloshed around in boots and raincoats, mumbling angrily. Annoyed and frustrated parents and seniors complained and whined. Why wouldn't the rain stop?

"Shogo, why don't you have a coat on?" Kiri asked as she walked beside him in the pouring rain. Narumi didn't respond. "Shogo!"

"Huh?" Narumi started.

"I asked you why you didn't have a rain coat on." Kiri said again. Narumi shrugged.

"I forgot, I guess…" He said absent-mindedly. Kiri sighed.

"Something's bothering you. I can tell." She said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about the past few days. I've really been out of it. What's really bothering me is the thing with, you know, that girl…" Narumi said quietly. Kiri let out a gentle laugh.

"Well, aren't you the all around good guy?"

"It's not like that." Narumi said.

"Oh, that's right. I need to go pick up some groceries. Wanna come?" Kiri asked. She ducked inside a small super market. Narumi followed behind her, still lost in thought.

Kiri whistled to herself as she looked through the different kinds of vegetables.

"…Kiri, I found out Sakura's address…"Narumi said. Kiri froze.

"Why?"

"Didn't you agree with everyone that we were going to find out what had happened to her?" Narumi asked. Kiri didn't respond. She randomly grabbed a few carrots and onions and walked on. "Kiri!" Narumi dashed after her.

"So I was thinking we could go check out her home after you finish buying food." Narumi said, finally falling out of his indecisive state.

"…I don't know, Narumi…" Kiri said. "…Wouldn't it be easier for the police to handle it?" Narumi frowned.

"Fine, if you don't want to come, you don't have to." Narumi said angrily.

"Wait, Narumi, that's not what I meant!" an exasperated Kiri called out to the receding figure of Narumi. He ran back out into the rain, his sneakers pounding the cement, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.

---

"It's got to be somewhere here…" Narumi said as he walked through the less fortunate part of town. Windows were shattered, doors forced open, and houses were looted all around. A few survivors were still standing tiredly, with their paint peeling. The smell of rain saved Narumi from smelling the stench of unwashed bodies and sweat usually there.

He finally reached a tiny apartment complex, if it could be called that. Like the other building around it, it was dieing. Most of the doors were open and weathered, swinging around wildly in the wind and rain, perhaps of missing locks. The roof was patch worked, some parts missing shingles, some covered with crudely tied together straw.

Narumi furrowed his brow, but walked on up to Sakura's door and knocked.

"Narumi!" A voice called out to him in the rain. He whipped around to see a small figure, behind him, in the distance. The silhouette was blurred by the raging raindrops. "Narumi!" It called again. The door in front of him opened a crack and a gun barrel poked out. A shot rang out and ripped through the air.

"NARUMI!"

---

"Kiri-chan, Kiri-chan!" A small boy beside a table on the streets of Japan called to a hurrying girl.

"Yoshi, I'm in a hurry, so some other time, okay?" The girl said, as she practically ran past him.

"BUT YOU ALWAYS SAY THAT!" He wailed and big tears flooded his eyes. Kiri grimaced, then turned back. The boy stopped crying and smiled. Kiri smiled a little too.

"Okay, so you turn the big wheel, and if it lands on the blue spot, you get a stuffed dog. If it lands on anything else, you owe me 500 yen*, kay?" Yoshi said happily. Kiri raised her hand to turn the wheel. "WAIT! To turn the wheel, you have to pay 100 yuan first!"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot." Kiri dug around in her pocket and took out a few coins and placed it in Yoshi's hand. She spun the wheel.

Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick…Tick…Tick. The spinner stopped.

"KIRI! YOU WON THE DOGGIE! YOU WON! YOU WON!" Yoshi squealed and handed her the stuffed dog. "I'll see you later, Kiri-chan!" Kiri finally laughed a little and then hurried back on her journey.

---

A harried Kiri burst into the clean, white room. A reassuring "beep…beep…beep" filled Kiri's ears once more. She saw that Narumi was still lying in bed, asleep. She set down the food she had bought on the small bedside table next to Narumi and sat down in a chair next to the window of that small room.

It had already been three days since the incident. On the second day, police had gone to check out Sakura's home. It turned out that the alcoholic inside the apartment was Sakura's step-dad. He had sexually abused Sakura, resulting in her taking abortion pills. She overdosed, leading to her death.

Kiri sighed for the nth** time that week and put her head in her hands, trying to rest. A groan from Narumi roused her.

"Narumi, Narumi, are you okay?" She whispered gently, afraid to wake him if he wasn't already up.

"K-Kiri?" His voice cracked. Kiri almost whimpered. She turned to get him some water, but Narumi wrapped her up in his arms. "Oh, Kiri, Kiri…My Kiri…" Narumi whispered into her hair over and over. Kiri hugged him back.

"I know, I know, it's going to be okay. Really, it's going to be okay." She said to him, tears streaming down both their faces.

---

Narumi continued to stay at the hospital for the following week. Many of his friends and admirers came to visit him, bringing him flowers and candy. But Narumi liked the stuffed dog that Kiri gave him later the best.

What had happened on that rainy day was, the alcoholic had shot a bullet into the air, fortunately not hitting anyone or anything. Then, he dragged a shocked Narumi into the room. Who knows what had gone on behind doors? Kiri went to get help, but the policemen didn't exactly welcome her with open arms and warm smiles. Finally, she got them to go in and rescue Narumi.

So all in all, everybody lived happily ever after.

Epilogue (sort of): Sakura's step dad, Takashi Muneoka, was convicted guilty and was given a death sentence. Sakura's mom, Nakamura Muneoka, had been murdered by Takashi a few years back. Her body was later found after a confession from Takashi.

May the Muneoka family REST IN PEACE.

**Note*: Yen is the currency in Japan. 100 yen in Japan equals 1 dollar in the United States. So 500 yen there is 5 dollars in the United States.**

**Note**: nth time. I don't really know how to explain this, but just substitute a really huge number for that n. For example, if 1004 stood for n, it would be the 1004****th**** time. Get it?**

**I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
****I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
****I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.  
****  
****I'm sorry for not updating. And I did NOT copy and paste all those "I'm sorry"s.**

…

**Okay, maybe I did. But only one line! I love technology. D: **

**Anyway, I'm really and truly sorry for not updating.**

**To make up for it, I'm going to write a LOT in the next two weeks. Prepare to be swamped. :)**

**Preview of next chapter:**

"What? Where are we going?"

"AMERICA!"


	8. Chapter 8

**I got a slightly alarmed, perhaps, reviewer. Don't be! It'll all work out in the end. So just hang on with me.**

"Kiri, how would you feel if I suddenly told you I was going back to the states and I was bringing you?" Emi, Kiri's mother, said curiously to her daughter who was trying to snap some beans. Her limp hand wasn't really helping. It was morning and they were sitting in the Koshiba living room, talking.

Emi took the beans from her and started snapping the beans herself. "Wait, what? Where are we going?" Kiri asked, looking up from her useless hand.

"America! I want American doctors to― I mean, I want you to see what America is like." Emi said hurriedly. Kiri gave her mom an unsure look.

"…I don't know. I don't get what America has that Japan doesn't." Kiri said. Emi sighed.

"Please, Kiri-chan?" She pleaded. This time, it was Kiri's turn to sigh. Seki popped his head into the room.

"Was that just me or did you both just sigh?" He asked.

"Seki dear, I was thinking…How would you feel about going to America?" Emi asked.

Seki frowned. "I wouldn't mind, but―" He stopped. "Yeah, America. Why not?" He gave a weak laugh. Emi beamed back at him.

"Kiri, it's decided then, we're officially going to America!" Emi yelled excitedly.

---

"Mom, you just decided we were going yesterday. Are you sure leaving today's a good idea?" Kiri asked with a frown on her face as they stood outside the airport in Tokyo.

"Of course." Emi said brightly. "Now, drop that frown and smile some, dear." She continued beaming at everyone and everything, blinding the half asleep Kiri.

It was 5 in the morning and Kiri, Emi, and Seki were sitting on a plane to Chicago, Illinois in the United States. Kiri groaned. Seki was laughing weakly. Emi continued on, humming and flashing dazzling smiles at everyone.

After an agonizing day, they finally reached Chicago then boarded a smaller plane to California.

---

Narumi tossed and turned in bed. Something was bothering him but he didn't know what it was. He sighed. The annoyed boy tried to empty his mind but Kiri's face kept on popping up. He gave up and let his mind wander.

He closed his eyes and Kiri's face occupied his conscious once more. A smile started on Narumi's face. But it was killed just as fast as it had been born. Narumi opened his eyes once more, sat up in bed, and held his head in his hands. He had figured what had been bothering him: Kiri's eyes.

---

"How much longer?" Kiri asked weakly as they stuffed their luggage onto a small yellow cab then piled in.

"Only a few more minutes!" Emi said brightly. They rode in mostly silence with the radio on a news station and there were occasional grunts from the cab driver in agreement with the reporter.

Finally, they reached a small condominium by a secluded beach. There were beautiful palm trees and a pleasant, warm breeze even though the season was dipping into winter.

Kiri exhaled in awe as she stepped out of the cab. The ocean overwhelmed all of her scents. There wasn't anything in Japan that looked anything like this, excepting what Kiri had seen in books. She walked slowly towards the water.

The salty and fishy scent tickled Kiri's nose. She could feel a light spray from the ocean. The water was clear and Kiri could see small shrimp, fish, coral, and all sorts of life underwater. Sunlight danced on the water with Waves as its partner. It nearly blinded Kiri, but not quite. She curled her toes and felt the grainy texture of the sand and the sharp bits of shells poke her.

"Kiri dear! Come inside!" Emi called as she took a bag from the trunk and almost skipped towards the white building. Kiri frowned a little. She wanted to spend the rest of the tiring day in the ocean, but obviously, someone had different ideas. Her eyes dulled and lost what little life they had gained since seeing the ocean.

---

Narumi's eyes had dark circles under them. He hadn't seen Kiri for two days. Where was she? He needed to see her.

Narumi reached back in his right pant pocket for the thousandth time that day and took out a carefully folded paper. On closer inspection, the paper was actually a photo. Unfolded, the picture was of Kiri Koshiba. Or, rather, the Kiri Koshiba _before_ the accident.

**Mysterious? No? Yes? Well, I hope so. **

**You decide when the next chapter will come out. At least 45 reviews for the next one! Good luck. (It won't kill you to press the button and type "Don't write more" or "I don't like it", will it? Just kidding, just kidding.")**

**Go Beauty Pop! I heard that onemanga has the whole series posted. So, go read if you want to.**


	9. Chapter 9

**All right, you lazy bums, XD Chapter 9 is out whether you like it or not. This chapter will be my longest yet whether you like it or not. I'm hoping to get about 2-3,000 words in here. So, cheer! Ra-Ra-Ra! And review!!**

**Notes:**

***Onigiri- A triangular shaped rice ball which sometimes has a rectangular piece of dried seaweed stuck vertically on the bottom of the triangle.**

**Another thing is that Narumi and Kiri are in the same class together here in Chapter 9. I know they aren't in the same grade. But here, Kiri's in advance math so that's why they're in the same class. Got it?**

"Ochiai! Kei!" Narumi called out as he ran towards the school building. The two boys turned around to see Narumi dashing towards them, red-faced and huffing and puffing.

"Uh-oh. Naru-Naru looks angry!" Kei laughed. Ochiai remained silent but frowned a little.

"For the past 3 days, Narumi had been like this. Another coincidence was that Koshiba-san hadn't been at school for the exact same amount of time. What was going on?" Ochiai thought. The "machinery" in his brain clanked and turned, finally, producing a reasonable answer.

"Narumi!" Ochiai yelled. He pointed a finger in Narumi's direction with his eyeglasses flashing. The brown haired boy was so startled by Ochiai's response to his yelling, he froze. "Admit it, Narumi. You've…You've…You've finally realized that―"

"What's up, Naru-Naru?" Kei chirped, jumping over to Narumi and cutting Ochiai off. Narumi looked down at Kei, still sucking on a lollipop.

"Kiri's been gone for 3 days!" He said in a near-whisper.

"I'm sure she just went vacationing!" Kei said.

"Vacationing?" Ochiai said, walking over, recovered.

"Yeah!" Kei said happily, taking out another bag of chips from thin air, apparently.

"Woah, where'd those chips come from? I mean, why vacationing?" Narumi asked.

"Because I saw Kiri packing the other day!"

"Koshiba-san? Packing? To go where?" Ochiai asked.

"I don't know. I just passed by her house and saw her packing." Kei said. The two taller boys said nothing, each toiling in their own thoughts.

"I've got to see her." Narumi suddenly said.

"How do you know where she―" Ochiai was cut off again as Narumi raced out of the school grounds, back the way he came.

---

"Mussy-head, Where are you?" Narumi mumbled under his breath as he rushed to find Kiri. Or, anyone who knew where Kiri was.

"Hey, you, kid! You should be in school!" A stout man in a suit came running behind Narumi.

"Oh, crap." He quickly found a small shop to duck into. He dove behind the counter, right in front of an old lady sitting there. The shop sold herbs and books. It smelled nice in there.

The man was right behind him, gasping, trying to catch his breath. "Did…Did….Did you see…s-see… a boy run past…here?" He chocked out.

The old lady only gave the man a look that immediately turned his face even redder. "Well, I guess…I guess…you didn't?" The old lady stared him down. He relented and scurried out from her shop.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Narumi said, crawling out from beneath the counter and bowing to show gratitude. The old lady only smiled a little at him. Narumi smiled back and hurried out. When he was two feet out the door, he turned back and stuck his head back into the shop.

"Do you know a girl called Kiri?" He asked. The old woman remained still for a second and then nodded. "Do you know where she went?" Narumi asked, an unbeliever of his good fortune. One of her gnarled hands gently came out of its nesting place in her shawl. She reached for paper, then pencil. She motioned for Narumi to come closer.

"Kiri Koshiba left for America 3 days ago." The woman's scrawl was hard to make out, but it was beautiful, in its own way. Narumi exhaled.

"America…" He bit his lip. Why would she go to America? Narumi thanked the lady profusely, but stopped when she got up from her wooden stool and ushered him out the door. He looked up at the shop's name. It was blank. He crossed the street to the other side and continued running.

He looked back just once. The shop was gone, disappeared. Narumi hurried even more.

---

"Emi, where are we?" Kiri asked, spinning around in Emi's swivel chair.

"We're in Los Angeles! The greatest place in America!" Emi cried out, dancing around the large, white room. Seki was in the bathroom, probably throwing up from the plane ride.

"Remind me again why I let you drag me into this?"

"Oh, Kiri dear. Tomorrow, I'm going to take you… somewhere special, okay?" Emi said, suddenly transforming from cheery to nervous.

"…Somewhere…special?"

---

"I'm sorry, sir. All our flights are booked." A bored worker at the airport said, typing lazily at the keyboard. Narumi cursed under his breath.

"When's the soonest I can go to America?" He asked.

"…Let me see…It'll have to be next month, provided you have the money." Narumi cursed again.

"I can't wait that long!"

"That's what they all say, sir." The woman said dryly, picking at her nails. Narumi sighed and walked over to a bench to sit down. He held his head in his hands, defeated.

"…That man over there looks like…Father?" Narumi thought and lifted his head. The man over there was indeed!

"Father!" Narumi cried and ran towards him.

"Shou-chan? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in school?" His surprised father said.

"I need to get to America. Now." Narumi said.

"Well, I can't do that. You should be in school." He said back.

"Where are _you_ going?" Narumi asked.

"…Um…Los Angeles." He said.

"Isn't that in America?"

"…I don't think so, no."

"Take me with you, please." Narumi asked.

"I'm sorry, I can't."

"Just take me, please. After I get off the plane, I won't bother you ever again. Please, just take me with you." Narumi said, exasperated.

"…Okay, only if you get on your knees, and beg." Narumi wrinkled his nose and glared at his father. He got down slowly on one knee…then two.

"Get. Me. To. America." Narumi said steadily.

"Oh, Shou-chan! America it is!" His father twittered, happy. "Take my ticket. Go on! Go on!"

Narumi pushed his father away, trying to keep from being smothered, grabbed the ticket and ran.

---

"Somewhere special turns out to be the hospital? What's so special about here?" Kiri asked with a bemused expression.

"Sit here, Kiri." Emi said. She was as nervous as ever. Emi got up from the bench she had been sitting on to go and talk a man in a big white lab coat and a face mask. His tiny eyes were magnified by his thick glasses. When Emi pointed to Kiri, he looked over, sending shivers down Kiri's back.

"Alright, Kiri dear, follow the doctor, okay?" Emi said, this time sadly.

"Why? Wait, stop, why? Emi!" Kiri cried out as the man pulled her into a small room.  
---

"We'll be arriving at the airport of Los Angeles in an estimated time of 15 minutes. Please keep your seat belts buckled. When the seat belt light goes off, you'll be free to unbuckle, gather your belongings, and exit the plane." A bright voice announced on the PA system.

Narumi was sitting in the first class row, stroking that small photo over and over again. His eyes were averted from the squealing flight attendants behind him. He was looking calmly out the window, into the white clouds.

The plane hit the ground with a bump and Narumi yelled out in surprise. Almost immediately, a small, daring group of girls who were probably tourists approached Narumi.

"Are you okay?" A pretty blonde girl asked him, smiling and staring at him with her clear, blue eyes. She touched his arm.

"Don't touch me!" Narumi yelled. He immediately broke out in hives and started scratching ferociously.

"It's contagious, get back!" A man behind Narumi yelled. The girls squealed and the blonde one leaped back. The chaotic day ended with Narumi being carted off to the emergency room to try to cure him of the mysterious illness.

---

"Why…Why is it so bright?" Kiri's first thought was as she opened her eyes a little. She could see fluorescent lights on the ceiling and that confused her. She didn't have those in her room. Then, it hit her. She was in America and the last thing she remembered was the doctor jabbing a syringe into her arm.

Kiri groaned and tried to sit up. She tried to use her left hand to try to support her, but pain shot up her whole left arm, causing her to gasp. She immediately relaxed her arm, falling back down into the bed. She decided to rest for the time being. She looked around the room, trying to figure out where exactly in the hospital she was.

There was someone else beside her. The person was also in a white hospital dress and metal bed as she was. Kiri couldn't tell who it was except that they had brown hair. She wasn't even sure if it was a girl or boy. The flowers on her bedside table were blocking her view.

"Hey, you." Kiri said. Nobody answered her. "Hey!" She said louder. A small groan escaped the other person. Kiri gasped. It had sounded just like Narumi!

"No, that couldn't be! He's in Japan. You're just hallucinating…" Kiri told herself. She tried getting up again, but her arm hurt even more than the last time. She finally gave up and tried to douse her curiosity.

A rustle from her neighbor froze Kiri. She turned her head, staring intently at the lump 5 feet away from her. She then heard a yawn. Next, about a minute passed before the person tried to sit up just as Kiri had, except, they succeeded. Kiri couldn't even gasp. She only stared at him.

"Na-Narumi?" Kiri whispered. The sound carried in the small room, reaching Narumi's ears. He turned his head towards the sound, and saw Kiri.

"…Kiri!" Narumi got up from the bed and rushed over. He wanted to wrap the frail little girl in his arm, but couldn't bring himself to do that.

"Why…Why are you here, Narumi?" Kiri asked, still shocked.

"It's such a long story." Narumi answered. He abruptly remembered what he had needed to see Kiri for. "Let me see your eyes, Kiri."

"My…eyes?" Kiri asked. She lifted her head, staring right into Narumi. He flinched. These were not the eyes of Kiri Koshiba. These were the eyes of the Kiri Koshiba after the accident. Narumi backed away a fraction. "What's wrong with my eyes?" Kiri fretted, trying to bring her hands to her eyes, but couldn't.

"You aren't Kiri Koshiba." Narumi gasped.

"What are you talking about?" Kiri cried, exasperated.

Unexpectedly, the door burst open to reveal Ochiai. "Ochiai?" Narumi and Kiri both intoned at the same time.

"Narumi, Koshiba-san." he said. He turned towards the stricken Narumi. "I heard your conversation." Narumi closed his open mouth and looked away. "Why do you say that Koshiba-san isn't herself?"

"It's because of her… eyes."

"Eyes?" Ochiai asked. Narumi nodded. He took out the well worn picture of Kiri that he had carried with him for the past five days and placed it gently in Ochiai's hand. He bent his head to study the picture. Ochiai looked from the picture to the confused and uncomfortable Kiri lying on the hospital bed.

"Look at her eyes." Narumi breathed. The Kiri now had the normal brown iris, but they were flecked with red. The Kiri Koshiba before the accident had warm, friendly eyes although she had been a little of a loner or floater. Now Kiri's eyes were cutting, and sharp, so completely unlike before.

Ochiai grabbed Narumi and shoved him out into the hall. Kiri still sat in the bed, unable to move, unable to interfere.

"Shougo Narumi." Ochiai said firmly with a dangerous undertone to his voice. Narumi didn't look at him. "Shougo Narumi!" This time, he shouted. Narumi flinched at looked at Ochiai.

"You and I both know that you…care…for Koshiba." Ochiai said quietly, his voice nearly breaking, but not quite.

"The Kiri that I knew…isn't this one." Narumi said, his voice thick. He averted his eyes again.

"Look at me! Her eye's doesn't change who she is as a person. I know you, Narumi. You wouldn't purposely hurt a person. You would purposely help them feel better." Ochiai said. "Remember your promise to me?"

Narumi couldn't take it anymore and tore his gaze from Ochiai and ran as fast as he could to get out of this dream turned nightmare.

Ochiai sighed then followed him.

---

"Kiri, dear! It's time to go home." Emi said as she helped a weak Kiri into a taxi car. They rode in silence to Emi's condo, where they got out the car and went inside.

"Kiri, you _will_ forgive me, right?" Emi said gently as she sat with Kiri on the couch. Kiri remained silent. "Kiri?" Emi sighed and looked down at her own hands. She had taken Kiri to America to try to heal Kiri's hand. The American doctors had succeeded, restoring the use of Kiri's hand.

But something had happened after the operation that had hurt Kiri deeply. She was in her own little world now, unspeaking, unseeing. Emi didn't know what had happened, unable to do anything, so helpless.

---

2 weeks later

---

The whole Koshiba family went back in town in Japan. Kiri's hand recovered, enabling her to cut hair even better than before. But every time she did cut hair, there was something missing.

---

Kiri slowly walked to school. Snow was falling steadily around her. It was white, pure, innocent. It was cold, but she didn't shiver even in a skirt. At school, Narumi and Kiri avoided each other.

Kiri ignored the "new friends" she had made after the accident, and they dropped her just as quick. Kanako and Taro still stayed by her side though.

Ochiai, Kei, and Narumi were still in the SP, though they did shows less and less.

"So this triangle will have a total of…" The teacher's voice droned on and on until the lunch bell rang, signaling everyone to run out the classroom door, including the bored teacher. Only Kiri and Narumi were left in the room. Neither of them acknowledged the other.

Kiri started gathering her books together. When she was finished, and stood up and pushed in her chair. She was half-way out the door when she said quietly, "You know, after the surgery in Los Angeles, I regained my memory. Why can't you just accept me as who I _am now_?"

---

Ochiai, Kei, and Narumi were on the roof of the school, eating lunch.

"Do you want to do a Scissors Project tomorrow, Narumi?" Ochiai asked.

"Why doesn't Kiri ever come over anymore?" Kei yawned, stretching his arms. Narumi froze up.

"Because Koshiba-san doesn't want to." Ochiai answered simply.

"Ahh, that's no answer." Kei said. He dropped the subject though.

---

"Tomorrow is going to be the 28th Cultural Festival of our school, Midorigawa. It'll be held here, as always. There'll be different things…" The principal announced during lunch, capturing the interest of quite a few people.

"Kiri-chan, are you going?" Kanako asked.

"Maybe." She responded.

"I'll definitely go." Taro announced. "The SP group will be there. I'll go and show them my awesome hair cutting skills and they'll be so amazed, they'll let me join! Kiri, you should come to see it."

"Whatever, Taro-Tard." Kiri said, finishing her juice box and going to buy another one.

"Don't call me that!" Taro whined.

"Taro…Don't you notice something different about Kiri-chan ever since she came back from America?" Kanako asked nervously.

"America? She went to America? When?!" Taro's eyes got big.

"She…She didn't tell you? Oh, well, she went, about, 2 or 3 weeks ago." Kanako said.

"Oh, I think she's still the same. She was just a fraction brighter after the accident though. But it's great that she can use her hand again…Oh, she must have gotten it cured in America." Taro said. Kanako nodded, agreeing.

---

"Wow, the lights are so pretty!" Kei said as the SP trio made their way down the aisles of small stalls in the place. Narumi grunted in response. A small group of SP fangirls followed a little ways back, squealing and calling out,

"Narumi-senpai! Do your best!"

"Ochiai-senpai! You're co cool!"

"Kei-kun's sooooo cute!"

The SP trio made their way onto the small stage set up for them and got ready to put on another show. As more and more people sat down in front of the stage, Taro, Kanako, and Kiri stepped out from under the small pavilion where they had been eating onigiri*.

"What's going on?" Kiri asked as she spotted the gathering mob by the stage.

"I don't know. Let's go see." Taro said as he led the way.

The three friends sat down towards the back and waited for the show to start. Gradually, the thin stage curtain opened to reveal Narumi, Ochiai, and Kei.

"Hey, it's the SP!" Taro shouted over the roar of the crowd. Kanako smiled and clapped a bit. Kiri didn't respond.

"Hello, everyone! Welcome to the Scissors Project today! We're going to have Naru-Naru here do the hair, Ochiai will do the make-up and me, Kei, I'll do the nails. Today we have a 10-Minute Timed Attack! And the perfect girl to do this on…is…KIRI KOSHIBA!" Kei shouted into the microphone.

Immediately, the crowd started whispering, with a spotlight on Kiri. On stage, Ochiai and Narumi were staring at Kei.

"I thought we were going to do it with Rika!" Narumi said. Ochiai asked the same thing.

"I guess I just said the wrong name." Kei said innocently. He picked up the microphone again.

"Will the crowd please bring Kiri forth? We're waiting for her!" Kei said. Strong hands grabbed Kiri after a few fingers were pointed and Kiri was pushed onto the stage.

"I refuse to get my hair cut." Kiri said.

"I refuse to cut her hair." Narumi said. They stared at each other. Kei pushed Narumi in the back and he fell, straight into Kiri while their lips met!

**Notes:**

***Onigiri- A triangular shaped rice ball which sometimes has a rectangular piece of dried seaweed stuck vertically on the bottom of the triangle.**

**Another thing is that Narumi and Kiri are in the same class together here in Chapter 9. I know they aren't in the same grade. But in my story, Kiri's in advance math so that's why they're in the same class. Got it?**

**Hehe, that's it for now! More than 3,000 words! Wow! Chapter 10 will come out at 45 reviews, okay? XD That way, I can wait awhile to write this and work on the cob-webbed Crimson Butterfly. –sigh− **

**Well, if you have any requests or ideas, please, PM me. I don't bite, really.**


	10. Chapter 10 finale?

**Wow, y'all reached 45 fast. Ok, Chapter 10!**

**Oh, another thing. A reader was confused about Narumi's feelings. I'm sorry. Is my writing that hard to follow? ^_^;; Well, Narumi's hurt Kiri more than once and he doesn't want to hurt her anymore and stuff. There'll be more explanation down below.**

**On to the story!**

"Koshiba-san!" Ochiai yelled as Narumi and Kiri collided.

"Ow." Kiri said as she landed on the floor next to Narumi. He sat, unmoving, until he finally lifted his hand to his face. There, on his lip was a small cut. Kiri also had a cut on her lip, but it was bleeding.

Ochiai quickly rushed over with some tissues and a first-aid kit. Kei frowned and sat down on the floor with Narumi, opening another bag of chips he pulled from Ochiai's makeup box.

"What—why'd you do that?" Narumi hissed to Kei.

Kei sighed. "You were supposed to _kiss_ the girl, not injure her. Gosh, I expected as much, Naru-Naru. You're such a bad kisser!" Kei laughed.

The crowd had been in an uproar, but converted into anxious muttering as even more drama unfolded on the stage.

Narumi looked around. The left exit was blocked by Kiri, but the right one was open. He ran towards it. Kei grabbed the back of his shirt.

"Hey, you can't just leave like that! You haven't even said sorry to Kiri-chan yet!" Kei said.

"Don't you understand? I can't!" Narumi yelled. "Just…Just…Stay away from me, Koshiba, if you don't want to get hurt." He raced off stage as a dead silence followed.

"He's right, Koshiba-san." Ochiai said as Kiri narrowed her eyes.

"Like, oh my god! Narumi-senpai just threatened that girl!"

"I know, like totally!" One girl crowed while she studied her nails.

"…I don't think that was a threat…Do you, Taro?" Kanako asked, trying to ignore the yelling crowd once more.

"I don't know, but poor Kiri…" Taro said.

---

Narumi sat in class, not listening to the teacher drone on and on about poetry. He propped his head up in his left hand, staring at the back of the person in front of him.

Narumi couldn't forgive himself. He had hurt the girl he had fallen so deeply in love with, so bad. Ever since she lost her memory, he should have stayed away from her. He should have ignored her. He should have. But he hadn't. These thoughts tickled his brain, making him shiver.

"Shougo Narumi." A voice sounded to his right. Narumi turned and lifted his head. It was the teacher, Sendo sensei. "Are you feeling all right? You're quivering like a leaf."

"Yeah, I'm fine." Narumi said with a deep sigh. The teacher made no further comment, but he made sure to keep his eye on Narumi, just in case.

---

"Naru-Naru! Come sit with us!" Kei yelled as Narumi walked past where Kei and Ochiai were sitting for lunch. He ignored them and Ochiai ignored him as well, continuing to eat his noodles, not even looking up.

Narumi walked out of the cafeteria into the yard. A lot of couples had grouped outside to eat lunch together, with the exception of a few student groups, who were meeting. Winter had been short this year and it was getting warm already.

He walked past everybody, then sat down in the furthermost bench from the other students. It was unoccupied and was surrounded by quite a few trees. He sighed and tried to think of what to do next.

"What should I do next?" Narumi wondered aloud, hoping that maybe saying it aloud would help him.

"You should stop running away." A voice sounded. Narumi jumped up.

"Who's there?!" Narumi yelled, surprised.

A figure jumped down from on of the surrounding trees.

"It's only me."

"Koshiba!? What are you doing here?" Narumi asked.

"Just trying to find a bit of peace, just like you."

"…"

"Why're you so surprised?"

"I—I—I just…didn't expect you to be there. That's all…" Narumi said weakly.

Kiri sighed and sat down on the bench. Narumi backed away a little.

"Narumi, why are you so afraid of me now?"

"A—Afraid? I'm not afraid." Narumi gulped.

Kiri stood up and looked at him. "Okay, not afraid. Then…"

"I really got to go…"

"…"

"Um, so, bye, I guess." Narumi said quietly.

"…Wait." Kiri whispered, hoping he wouldn't hear her.

Narumi froze. "Why…were…Why were you so nice to me when I forgot my memory and so mean when I was in the hospital?" Kiri asked.

"I—I just…I…" Kiri waited. "I just didn't want to hurt you more…than I already had…" Narumi blurted out. He stayed frozen, surprised at his own outburst.

They both stood, staring at each other until Kiri finally broke the perfect silence.

"You…thought you… hurt me?" A tenth of a fraction of a smile appeared on her face. Narumi turned crimson.

"Um, no, I just, I mean, um, well, I, I'm, you know, I…" Narumi started blabbing, trying to change the subject, unsuccessfully, of course, with Kiri's laser like beam eyes, boring into his face, melting his heart.

Narumi remained silent for a while. "Well, um, I need some answers of my own." He said bravely.

"Do you?" Narumi squirmed. How can this changed Kiri still make him feel this way? He thought.

"Yeah, um, how come…How come you aren't at all like the old Kiri even though you remember what…happened…before?"

This time, it was Kiri's time to stay silent. She averted her eyes. "I wish you stop referring to me before the accident as the 'old Kiri'. It sounds too weird."

"What about the rest of my question?"

"…"

"Well?"

"I guess my new memories affected me more than I thought. I feel, I act, and I do everything as the way I usually do. I don't understand what's so different about my attitude toward…you."

"Just…How much do you remember of… everything after and before the accident?"

Kiri grimaced and hesitated. "After the accident…all I have…are the memories of you."

Narumi looked at the slim, frail figure standing so close, yet so far away from him. He couldn't describe this feeling he was experiencing. It was a jab in his heart, chaos in his eyes, discordance in his ears, a drug for his brain. Everything was wrong, yet so right.

_I think I'm fallin' in._

_I think I'm fallin' in._

_I think I'm fallin' in._

_Into you…_

_I'm fallin' fallin'. Fallin' deeper and deeper._

_I'm fallin' fallin'. Fallin' deeper and deeper._

_I'm fallin' fallin'. Fallin' deeper and deeper._

_I'm fallin' fallin' into you…_

**52 reviews for a possible epilogue. After that, Memories of You, is going to the grave. UNLESS, (there's always an "unless"!) that I get enough convincing for this to continue or a sequel or something else or something.**

**I'm always looking for something new to write. **

**(And I really need to work on Crimson Butterfly! Ohhhh… _ )**

**PM, PLEASE, I BEG YOU. D:**


	11. Chapter 11

**XD After a threat and many, many reviewers (worshipped by me), I was finally convinced to write: the epilogue! But! I was thinking, maybe we can write a sequel or something completely different: together!  
Yeah! A collab! So, if you're interested, you can email me at epikwonder (at) gmail (dot) com, or you can email me at my old email account, aqua1995 (at) gmail (dot) com.**

**One more thing: My pen name is now, officially, Epik Wonder!**

**Well, enjoy the epilogue!**

---

The sky was blood red, a color that Kiri could never forget. The sea beside her new house always reminded her of past events, past memories. She was sitting in a rocking chair in a small cottage, stroking a large, black and white cat. A small child sat by her, playing with some dolls.

"Mommy?"

"Yes?"

"When's Daddy coming home?"

"He should be home really soon…It's nearly five."

"Oh…"

Just then, the door opened and closed to reveal a tall, brown-haired young man.

"I'm home!" he said, taking off his hat and dropping it onto the head of the little girl running up to him.

"Daddy!"

"Hey! How's my little Mitsuko?" The man picked up the girl in his strong arms and twirled her around. She giggled, waving her hands up in the air.

"Daddy! Daddy! Look what Mommy did with my hair! Don't I look like a princess?" she giggled. Her father stopped, put her down on the ground and examined her. He froze.

"Oh dear, you're so beautiful, you've even took the breath of your father away. Just like your mother did, and still does." The smiling man said, hugging Mitsuko once more. She blushed with pleasure.

"I love you Daddy!"she cried, hugging him back.

"Shougo, let's hurry to dinner or else my parent's will get angry." The woman in the rocking chair said, placing her cat down on the floor, getting up and walking toward father and daughter.

"Yeah, I wonder if my dad'll show up this time." He said. Kiri shrugged. Narumi picked up Mitsuko again and carried her out the door. Kiri followed behind soon after, but not before glancing once more at the two small pictures sitting on the table by the door.

The first picture showed five shining faces. Kiri was in a beautiful wedding dress with Narumi right beside her in a white tuxedo. Seiji and Emi were hugging and crying a little bit behind them. Narumi father was with them, also crying.

The second picture was of a pudgy, perfect baby. The beautiful script on the lower right hand corner of the photo read: Mitsuko Narumi—Child of Shougo Narumi and Kiri Koshiba (Born January 1st).

END.

---

**YAY! Well, that's all folks!**


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